A Perfect Moment in Time
by Lady Akyrial
Summary: Elrond and Celebrian celebrate a perfect afternoon. This is a simple back slice of life that follows the story. Strong sexual content.


My appreciation to all those that have reviewed – both positive and negative. I truly like this story and feel that my progress as a writer is due to Wendwriter, Epilachna, The Battling Bard, and other notables. Indeed, as one reviewer who is known for being narcisstic has noted, _"You might do well to change these before some impressionable younger reader sees and copies you." _Gladly done, as I wouldn't want to corrupt our youth.

_A Perfect Moment in Time_

Elrond felt the warmth of the sun caress his face as sleep left his body. Lying quietly, he felt the weight of his dear Celebrian on his arm and across his chest. In all the years that they had been together, she preferred to sleep nestled in his arm and shoulder, with her arm draped over his chest. He inhaled deeply to smell the jasmine oil that she preferred to bathe in. The scent overwhelmed him and he felt the power of his fea begin to reach out to her.

Reaching up with his free arm, he slowly caressed the silky softness of her arm. She stirred slightly, unintentionally encouraging him to continue his ministrations upward to her graceful neck and the fine curve of her jaw line. Her skin was as fair as the finest porcelain the artisans could make and as soft as the most expensive silks that were woven. His long, slender finger gently caressed the fine curve of her nose and gently trailed to her ear. He loved her points, they were so well defined compared to the other elves of Lorien and Imladris. When his finger found the tip of her ear, she began to stir again and smiled in her sleep. Elrond looked down at her face and saw that her eyes still held the glaze of reverie. He loved looking at her and studying her delicate, but beautiful features. In his opinion, she was Luthien embodied again.

Resting quietly, he reflected again…his thoughts shifted to the quality of life that he had created in this time of peace. He loved this time of day, with no distractions or demands. Now that his sons were beyond their elfling years, he could enjoy these private moments with more frequency. Although he missed the two small elfling bodies clambering over him and Celebrian, he did enjoy the final moments of reverie with her.

Responding to the urges of his body, he rolled toward her and softly brushed his lips across hers. He watched as her eyes came into focus as she looked up into his eyes. She smiled and continued his kiss with one of her own. No words needed to be spoken as his mouth took possession of hers, and her hands crept down his smooth chest…briefly caressing his stomach and then reaching lower to find his strength. She smiled briefly in encouragement when their mouths separated and then they began to respond to the calling of their combined feär. Their break of fast would have to wait until their feast was over.

* * *

Celebrian looked at her husband as he rose from their bed. His body was a work of art with well-defined muscles and finely chiseled features. He was simply beautiful in an exotic way…it was this exotic appeal that drew her interest to him so many years ago when her Adar had introduced him. This morning, his hair was unruly and hung loose, nearly to his waist. The beautiful ebony almost seemed to glow in the sunlight…

She watched as he strode confidently to the bathing room, his muscled thighs rippling smoothly under his skin. Elrond was tall for a peredhel, let alone an elf. He radiated physical strength and masculinity in every fluid motion of his body and leadership by his quiet and regal demeanor. His intimacy, and the tender side of his personality were reserved for his family and the closest of friends.

Reflecting quietly, Celebrian thought of her two sons. Ai, they had been more than a handful growing up, independent and strong willed as well. They greatly favored their father in appearance and demeanor, but they also carried her temperament…additionally, they had a great sense of humor and often teased the Imladris Lords to the point of vexation or irritation. She smiled when she remembered the last time Lord Glorfindel and Lord Erestor took after the boys through the house and into the gardens. It took two days and much attention (bribery with honey cakes) to calm these great lords of the first age down.

She missed feeling needed in the middle of the night. The quiet around the house was overpowering now. Oh, how she wanted another child, a little one to love and cuddle again. A little one to occupy her day while Elrond was busy. A little girl would be nice, one to soften the edges of her sons' personalities. Someone they could nurture and protect…

* * *

After his bath, Elrond gave her a sensual kiss…a lover's kiss before he parted for his study to begin his morning duties. He always gave her this time to bathe and dress before he prepared for their break of fast with the other members of the house. Ever since the twins were little, he would give her this part of the day to herself.

As he walked quietly to his study, he succumbed to his thoughts…110 years. It was but a blink of the eye to the eldar…a mere mortal span…but it was also the time that his sons were begat and grown to majority. Ai, they were truly a handful…two elflings with their mother's personality and humor. Time after time, he had seen her playfulness come out, unrestrained in the duplicate forms of his sons. He had also seen his fierceness and loyalty come through, and he knew that neither would rule in his stead…but both would assume the seat of leadership together. They were good sons, both having acquired the values of honesty, integrity, and fairness… Now that they were grown, he knew that something was missing… an elfling to again run the halls of his house…

Unintentionally echoing Celebrian's sentiment, he realized that he wanted another child. He felt incomplete as he thought about his sons. With them reaching their majority, they were learning to make adult decisions and live with the responsibilities that adulthood would bring. It was too soon for them to grow up. Elrond missed the little arms that would wrap about his neck…he missed the look of adoration that the elflings gave him when they settled down at night for stories…If the truth were to be known…he even missed the swaddling…but he would never admit this to anyone – even Celebrian.

As he reached his study, he sat for a few minutes and thought about his day. After looking at his schedule which Erestor had laid out the night before, he realized it was a quiet day…with nothing more pressing than sitting in on a couple of trade meetings with the men from Bree and planning crops with the farmers in the outlying parts of the valley. In a sudden rush of delicious revolt, Elrond knew that he wanted to do something else for the day. He gracefully rose from his desk, and then walked purposefully out of the house to the training fields to start implementing his plan. When he saw the golden haired elf in the distance, he smiled…he was going to owe Glorfindel a large debt for what he was about to ask of him.

Glorfindel glanced up when he heard the soft footfalls of his friend. Indeed, something was up if the Lord of Imladris was coming to the fields this early. He quickly dispatched his student with a nicely executed hip throw and ordered the group of trainees to continue the lesson so that he could meet his friend in privacy, away from the hearing of his young group of students – Lord Elrond's sons included.

He quickly made himself presentable and walked over to Elrond who stood patiently on the sidelines. "Good Morning, Mellon nin. Is all well before the break of fast?" he greeted quietly.

"Good Morning, Glorfindel…Ai, all is fine, but I wanted to talk with you briefly before we met at the table with the family, " Elrond answered quickly to alleviate his Captain's quiet apprehension. Elrond looked beyond Glorfindel and watched his sons for a few moments. They were so graceful as they interacted with the other trainees; where the motion of one would stop, the other would pick it up and continue it seamlessly into another technique.

"My Lord?" Glorfindel ventured. Seeing his friend lost in a brief moment of contemplation, Glorfindel paused, then called to Elrond again and broke into his thoughts.

"They really are beautiful to look upon, Glorfindel. This dance that they weave is reminiscent of how we used to fight…You are training them well, my friend."

"Ai, they move with the grace born of two who are one. Thank you, Elrond, but I sense there is more to this conversation than the admiration of your sons…"

"You are right, my friend. There is. I want to spend some time with Celebrian today, away from the House. She has been feeling restless of late, and I thought that a change of scenery would be good for her."

"Indeed. The lady has been more mischievous of late. She has been teaching the twins new pranks, like salting my tea and spicing my honey cakes with cayenne rather than cinnamon. A day away might be good for her, before she dresses in a tunic and comes to the field to 'practice' like she used to do with Erestor." Glorfindel shuddered at the thought of the lady with a bow. It wasn't that she was a bad shot, but, the last time she shot, Erestor was nearly parted with his Fea when the arrow narrowly missed his throat. All in all it would have been considered a good shot – had she not been aiming for a target nearly 10 yards away. To her credit though, she was distracted by Elrond impulsively nibbling her ear while he was helping her aim; but still, he did not wish to see the Lady of the House on the field again, at least until the next millennia approached or Numenor was risen from its watery tomb.

"Given that you agree, Mellon-nin; I have a great favor to ask of you, " Elrond started. He waited for his friend and captain to agree before continuing. When Glorfindel nodded, he sprung his request. "I would like to take her on a private picnic and wondered if you would keep the twins busy, perhaps take them out hunting today, all day, as far away from the Reflecting Pool as possible?"

"Mmm. All day hunting with the twins. Elrond, do you know what you ask? They are barely into their majority and still carry many elfling traits. Ai, my friend, it is a large request you make. Can I take Erestor as well? He is the best tracker I know and we can make this into a practical lesson and keep them busy."

"Thank you, Glorfindel. You have whatever resources you require. I just want to give my wife an enjoyable day."

* * *

With a smile, Elrond left his friend on the field and turned back to the House. He walked swiftly and considered his next step. With part one of his plan achieved, Elrond now needed to approach Erestor with the second phase of his plan.

He found the Seneschal in his private office off the library, working on a trade agreement for the Edain of Bree. Knowing that his friend would be less than amused with the interruption, he balanced a tray of lemon tea with honey and knocked softly. Erestor looked up in surprise to see who would interrupt him at such an early hour. Seeing his Lord at the door with a teapot did little to calm his curiosity.

Elrond smiled and walked in as he excused himself for interrupting. Erestor's curiosity was piqued with his friend's formality and bribe of tea. Something was up and he felt that he was being drawn into a hornets' nest. He waited patiently as Elrond poured the tea – another sign that something different bode for the day.

Erestor took the cup quietly and waited for Elrond to begin. He did not have to wait long before the Peredhel described his wish to occupy Celebrian for the afternoon. Relieved that nothing too drastic was being asked of him, he agreed to assign some house staff to carrying out the necessary supplies to the pool.

Elrond smiled when his Seneschal agreed to the first part of his request, and decided that Lord Glorfindel could bombard him with the second part of the plan; after all, he didn't want to seem too overbearing. As he enjoyed his tea, he also mentioned that he would like the trade meetings to be moved up from the afternoon to the latter part of the morning. He wanted to work with the Edain rather than leaving it to his friend to do alone.

* * *

As the family sat down to the break of fast, the conversation was introduced with the Edain negotiations. Seeing his opportunity, Elrond asked Erestor if he had moved the timetable up to midmorning, and Erestor replied that the rescheduling had been done. When the family agreed that it would be better to get that done early in the day, Elrond mentioned that he wanted the twins to go on a tracking exercise and hunting trip with Glorfindel and Erestor that afternoon. His Seneschal glanced up sharply at the mention of his name and narrowed his eyes at the Captain when the blond elf began to laugh.

Elladan and Elrohir beamed at the two Lords and began to think about fun afternoon pranks that they could pull on both the Lords of the First Age. Catching each other's eyes, they nodded almost imperceptibly; however, it didn't go unnoticed by Glorfindel. He gave his best glare to the two miscreants, and they began to study the crumbs on their plates rather than meet his penetrating gaze.

* * *

Elrond sat at the table, trying not to let his impatience show through. These Edain, his brother's descendants were being contentious and difficult. Sighing deeply and pushing his hand to the bridge of his nose, he pinched it slightly to ward off the headache that was coming on. After listening to them, yet again, make more demands and argue for more supplies, he shifted his gaze to look out the window.

Erestor, ever the diplomat, had enough of the mercenary tactics that this particular group was employing to obtain a maximum trade. Standing suddenly, he caught their attention and silenced them. "Gentlemen, it seems as if you have forgotten…we of the eldar need little from you and the little that we do need, we can obtain from other villages. Although we have a fondness for the people of Bree, we will not capitulate to these demands. Please enjoy the hospitality of Imladris for the rest of the afternoon, and we will reconvene tomorrow to listen to more reasonable requests. I trust that you will use this afternoon productively to ascertain what you truly want for this winter."

Elrond looked at his Seneschal and kept his face neutral, but inside he was laughing. Erestor could lay it on the line when his patience was tested…and this particular lot had done just that. The humans didn't recognize the look that Erestor gave them, never having seen the dark elf at the end of the first age. He was quite a force to be reckoned with when his ire was up…and these men had pushed him to this point with all of their bickering and demands. Taking his cue, he nodded his head to Erestor, then excused himself from the group.

Finally, Elrond was able to finish his plan. He stopped by the kitchen to check on the lunch and approve the wine that was chosen for their picnic. With her Lord's approval, the kitchen maid finished packing the basket and set out for the pool to set up the table.

Walking up the stairs, Elrond found Celebrian in the family sitting room. She was sitting quietly in one of the overstuffed chairs, her head tipped against the back and her eyes glazed over in reverie. He moved to her side and slowly pushed away a wisp of her silver hair, brushing her cheek with his fingertips. Celebrian's eyes came into focus and he nearly became lost in their depths as she stared up at him.

"Meleth, are you ready for a surprise?"

"Mmm. What kind of surprise do you have in mind?" she countered.

Instead of answering her question, Elrond handed her the dainty shawl on the back of the chaise and knelt down to place her delicate slippers upon her feet. He took each of her feet and gently kissed the toes before he slipped the covers over her precious feet.

Celebrian giggled as she felt his lips brush her toes. "My husband, you are truly in a rare mood… To what do I owe this honor?" she asked.

Elrond looked up at her and raised his eyebrow in mock surprise. "You are always worthy, my dear. You are the most beautiful elleth in all of Arda, and the mother of my sons. I want you to know how special you are, so we are going to have a peaceful afternoon together."

Celebrian opened her mouth to respond, but Elrond placed one of his long, slender fingers over her lips. He leaned in to her ear and whispered, "No more questions. Put your shawl on, dearest. We have a small walk to attend to."

* * *

Celebrian walked peacefully beside her husband, wondering what he was up to. He had been so busy as of late. Although Elrond had his tender moments, this trip was almost out of character for him. To anyone else's eyes, he would appear stoic and reserved, but she felt his emotions through their bond, and she knew that he was very nervous and excited.

Her curiosity was more than piqued when they snuck out of the house by the garden door of their room. Never before had they actually snuck out of the house like a pair of lovesick elflings. She could almost guess that there were more parties involved in this than her husband. It was too easy and there was no opposition or last minute distractions… Her husband was definitely up to something, but what?

Elrond began to visibly relax when they cleared the gardens and entered the forest on one of the lesser known paths. He glanced up from time to time to see a sentry that Glorfindel had assigned, but other than that they were alone, finally, truly, alone.

He hoped that Celebrian would like the surprise. She had given him so much happiness since they had bound themselves together. Now, he wanted to give her this perfect moment in time. It was not much farther to the glade, hopefully the kitchen maid had followed his directions….

* * *

As they went deeper into the woods, Celebrian felt Elrond relax a little. She looked up at him and smiled, sensing that he had gone to an extraordinary amount of work for her. He was never this nervous unless there was some major import to share. As she continued in her thoughts, she began to catch the faint scent of jasmine.

She looked at her husband and saw his gaze fix on her. He stopped and wrapped his arms about her as he lowered his head to touch his lips to hers. Gently he began their kiss by brushing her lips with his own, then he gently began to suck on her bottom lip. When she yielded to him, he slowly parted her lips and tasted her with his tongue. Celebrian felt her passion ignite into a fire deep within her…

Elrond felt her excitement rise, and he regretfully broke off his kiss. "It is not time yet, Hervess; you must wait a while longer. We still have a distance to walk."

Celebrian stared at him for a moment as she caught her breath. Frustration overwhelmed her for a moment, but when she saw the twinkling in his eye, she knew that he had something special planned. He wanted her to wait, so she would wait…but she was not a patient elf. Knowing this about herself, she was content to let him lead her further down the path to the mystery destination.

* * *

Soon the couple walked into a brilliant clearing beside a peaceful pool with a small waterfall, and Celebrian's senses were assaulted with the sweet smell of jasmine. She stood, fixed to Elrond's arm, too much in shock to say anything but his name. To her immediate right, she saw a beautiful canopy that was set up with plush bedding beneath it. Across the bed were armfuls of jasmine, scattered profusely to share their scent with whoever would lie upon them. As her vision circled toward the left, her breath was taken away by the sight of the serene pool and the beautiful waterfall directly in front of her and Elrond. Finally, she looked to the left and was amazed to see a beautiful table spread with the delicacies of Imladris. She saw cold meats, cheeses, wine, fresh bread, fruits, and pastries laid out in a lavish fashion.

Finding her voice, she turned to her husband…. "Elrond, it is magnificent! I love it. I, I love you."

Elrond looked down into her eyes and smiled as he took possession of her mouth again. He felt her happiness as he tasted her, and he wanted to have so much more of her, but he didn't want to rush her. Reaching his hands up, he gently cupped her cheeks in his palms and held her face while he kissed her slowly and deeply.

Celebrian responded by wrapping her arms about his neck and pulling him deeper to her. When she felt his hands slide down to encircle her back and waist, she moaned and clung to him, enjoying the strength of his arms.

Elrond lost all sense of time as he reached down and picked Celebrian up into his arms and carried her to the bedding. Gently, he sat her upon it, and moved behind her to undo the buttons of her dress. At each button, he would nibble on her ear, then work down her spine with his butterfly kisses. She would shiver each time and lean into him, feeling his hair cascade over her shoulder and tickle her. Slowly he worked the neckline of her dress down over her shoulder, and seeing the pale skin, he couldn't help himself. Dipping his head, he began to nuzzle the nape of her neck, then he began to gently suck the tender skin of her inner shoulder.

Celebrian cried out as his mouth made contact with her shoulder, it was one of her most sensitive areas. She gasped as waves of pleasure washed over her and gripped his hand with her own. Yielding to her pleasure, she sighed and leaned back into his embrace, feeling his strength and passion unite as he reached forward to cup her breasts in his hand. She turned instinctively to allow him access, and sought his mouth with her own.

Elrond felt the power of her kiss as it seared his soul. He was overwhelmed with her passion and felt his own rise to meet it when her hand began to trace downward from his chest into his robes and finally to his member. Her whisper-soft caress caused him to strain forward against the undergarment he wore.

Celebrian smiled at him as she continued her advances and began to undo the fasteners that held his robes closed. Divesting him of his outer layers, she concentrated her efforts on removing his undergarments, but he reached up and took her hands with his.

"Nay, my lady, I want to undress you first. I want to see your beauty in this vale, and I want to love you," he interrupted, his voice being low and raspy.

Celebrian sighed and smiled when she looked at him. His eyes had darkened to a dark gray, almost a black with the intensity of his love.

Elrond pulled her to her knees in front of him and slid her dress over her shoulders and arms. When he reached her chemise, he grasped the material and lifted it deftly off of her. She knelt in front of him, with all of her naked beauty shining forth. Quickly he removed his undergarments and guided her to the lie on the pillows. Settling in beside her, he began to kiss her again as his hand began to trace lightly over her hips and up to her breasts.

"Elrond," she interrupted gently. "Will you give me a child this day? I have felt your feelings and my own. My husband, I would give you a child if you would beget one with me."

Elrond looked at her for a moment before a smile crept over his face. "Ai, Celebrian, I would give you a child. Imladris has grown too quiet with the twins growing up. Where would you like to beget it?"

"Right here, Hervenn. I can think of no more beautiful place than in this vale and on this bed. Please Elrond, give me your love, give me our child."

Elrond smiled gently at his dear wife. Carefully, he moved between her legs and she opened herself to him as he entered deeply within her. As he pushed forward she raised her hips and met him with the strength of both her body and fea.

The two lovers joined their hearts, feär, and hroär in a dance of pure ecstasy and rapture. Their souls intertwined to create a new life between them. When they reached the point of release, they felt the Valar's blessing. Although it would take a few days to know their child, they knew that they had created a soul this day. Both Celebrian and Elrond smiled and reached out to each other in their minds. They celebrated the joy of creation silently, together.

* * *

Hours later, Elrond led Celebrian into the pool and gently washed her with the jasmine soap that he hid in the basket. She leaned into his embrace and felt his arms wrap about her. The two stood together and listened to the music of the forest, their hearts matching the song in harmony.

Afterwards, Elrond and Celebrian ate a feast fit for royalty as they celebrated the begetting of their child. Both shared a vision that this child would change the future of Arda, but neither knew how…


End file.
